A Fall Back in Time and Space
by house3er4ev
Summary: When Elizabeth learned of her family's history she never expected to experience it for herself. When a strange car accident leaves her stranded in England during the 1920's she meets namesake who she helps figure out managing an overbearing family and a difficult relationship. How will this girl from the future affect the lives of the Crawleys? AU where Matthew lives. Edith/Gregson
1. Prologue

**AN: So I have been feeling serious Downton ****withdrawal lately, especially considering that the new season will be starting soon in the UK and not here in America. I'm tired of all of the Edith/Anthony stories. I don't particularly like him and frankly, it's time to move on. I started writing this story in May and have finally written enough chapters to feel comfortable posting once a week without falling behind because I, personally, hate when authors don't post for very long periods of time and this will hopefully leave me enough room to be ahead and have great chapters. They are semi-edited but if you find any mistakes just let me know. No flames please. I hope you enjoy something a little different and a little AU.**

**Prologue **

On her walk to school, Ellie was contemplating yesterday's lunch with her grandmother. Thursday lunches with her grandma Sylvia were Ellie's favorite part of the week. Not only was she released from that mandatory prison the government calls school, but she got to spend at least an hour listening to her mammaw's stories about family members living and long deceased.

This week, Sylvia told Ellie's favorite story: the one about how her great grandmother Edith found her true love. It was a tragic, romantic story with a bittersweet ending.

Most youth weren't interested in tales about people long gone but Ellie always found them important. If one thing made Ellie scared, it was the idea that one day, a couple generations from now, no one would remember her. The only people that ever get remembered centuries after their death did something amazing in their lifetimes.

As she walked, Ellie was so lost in her recollections that she failed to see or hear it coming. One minute she was casually crossing the street, thinking about her great grandmother, the one who grew up in England on a large estate called Downton Abbey and almost lost her family in the process of defying all of society's convention. The next, everything was black.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

A boy! A baby boy! A healthy baby boy and a healthy, happy and tired wife. Matthew couldn't be more ecstatic. In fact, he was willing to bet that he was the happiest man on the earth at that moment. He couldn't wait to tell the rest of the family. The last year had been difficult with the death of Sybil and Matthew's elevation to Robert's partner. Finally, some good news! Something to celebrate!

In his deliriously joyful state, the future lord of Downton didn't see the girl blindly walk into the front of car until the last second. He braked as hard as he could, and though that lessened the impact, he jolted when the girl hit the car. Immediately, he turned off the engine, opened the car door, and rushed to the girl's side. His mind barely registered her strange apparel as he checked for a pulse. It was faint, but it was there. There was a large cut on the girl's head where it had hit the pavement and her leg was skewed at a weird angle.

Matthew contemplated whether or not he should bring her straight to the hospital or to Downton as he gently laid her on the passenger seat. He had decided it was best to go home simply because he was so close. Furthermore, the rest of the family was waiting anxiously for any news about Mary. He ran quickly back to grab the girl's heavy bag and got into his car before speeding his way to Downton.

Overall, his mood had been severely dampened.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The family had been waiting in the library when they heard the car pull up the drive. They immediately ran outside to welcome Matthew home and hear the news about the baby. Although they were glad that the baby had been born in a safe environment where Dr. Clarkson had everything he needed to make the delivery as safe as possible, they wished they could have gone with Mary.

However, the site they were greeted by was a surprise. Matthew was carrying a clearly injured girl in his arms.

Robert and Tom rushed to Matthew's side to see if they could help.

"My god!" exclaimed Robert. "What the devil has happened? Who is that?"

Matthew began barking orders at everybody, "Carson, call Dr. Clarkson. Robert, grab her bag from the car. It's heavier than it looks. Tom, help me carry her upstairs. What room should we put her in?" The last was addressed to his mother-in-law. Carson immediately responded with a "right away, sir" but was forced to pause as he listened to Lady Cora's reply.

"We can put her in one of the guest rooms, but shouldn't we ask for another doctor? Let Dr. Clarkson stay at the hospital with Mary, she needs the best," Cora questioned.

"Mary's fine. She gave birth to a healthy boy and now she is resting. However, this young girl is not healthy. We need to get her medical attention," Matthew said rushing into the house carrying the girl's shoulders while friend and brother-in-law carried her feet. He paused for a moment, looking into Robert and Cora's eyes.

"I did this to her. I caused this. If she dies, her blood is on my hands."

Thirty minutes later Doctor Clarkson had arrived with his medical bag, informing everyone that Matthew's mother Nurse Isobel Crawley had stayed to look after Mary.


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N Sorry that this is so late! These past few weeks have been super hectic. **

**Chapter 3**

Ellie slowly came into consciousness, but didn't immediately open her eyes. She couldn't. Everywhere ached. Her leg felt like it had been snapped in half and she had the biggest migraine she had ever had, and in her short life she had had a lot. Her throat was parched.

Finally she opened her eyes, but immediately closed them. The bright light in the room made everything worse. She tried again, blinking heavily as she tried to get the sleep out of her eyes.

"Water...water," she called out softly and hoarsely.

Almost immediately someone was there holding a cup to her lips. It was a beautiful woman with blond curls and kind eyes.

"Hello," she said quietly as Ellie sipped the cool water. "You were in an accident. You needed stitches on your head and your leg was broken. I'm afraid you won't be walking for quite sometime."

"My head is killing me. Would you please turn out the lights?"

"Of course!" The woman quickly walked out of Ellie's frame of sight. Finally, the lights were off. While of course that didn't completely deplete the pounding in her head, it certainly dulled it a little bit. Strangely, she thought, she heard the door open. Ah, now she knew why. The woman had called for someone to call the doctor. That confused Ellie. She thought the woman was the doctor.

"Now, do you remember what happened?" asked the woman when she returned.

"Umm...yes, I think so. I was walking to school. I think I crossed the street...Oh no! I didn't see it coming! I wasn't paying attention." A hot tear ran down her face. Her eyes had turned downward but now they flew back to the woman as a thought occurred to her. "Where is my father? My family? They should be the ones here to wake me up! My father is my physician. He knows everything. I only trust his opinion! Where is he?!"

"Please slow down, my dear girl. I know your scared and frightened and hurt. But one thing at a time."

For some reason, Ellie found the woman to be calming. She tried to control her breathing and after a few minutes, it slowed down. She needed to remain calm. It would do her no good to get upset about things that could wait. She knew her father would come. He had to.

"Now then, Dr. Clarkson will be here shortly. He can take care of any questions you may have then."

"Are you not the doctor?"

"Me? A doctor? Of course not my dear! I'm not even a nurse. My brother-in-law brought you here. He was the one who hit you. He's very glad that you are alive. Now, I must go greet Dr. Clarkson and update him about your condition. I'll be back soon, I promise."

Ellie was left with an infinite amount of questions running a million miles an hour through her head. _Where is my father? Why haven't I seen him? What's going to happen to me? Who was that woman? Why was she here if she wasn't the doctor? How long have I been out? What day is it? _And most importantly, _where am I?_


	5. Chapter 4

**This is to makeup for not really posting as consistently as I promised. I will post again tomorrow as usual. **

**Chapter 4**

Meanwhile, the downstairs household was having its afternoon tea. The topic at the table was the mysterious girl lying injured in a bed upstairs.

"That poor girl," exclaimed Anna Bates, head house maid and wife to Lord Grantham's valet. "It's a miracle if she survives."

"You don't think she may have walked in front of the car on purpose, do you?" asked Daisy. She couldn't imagine anyone trying to commit suicide, but she couldn't understand how the girl didn't see Mr. Crawley driving towards her.

"Of course not, Daisy. Don't be stupid," admonished Thomas. He couldn't stand Daisy's incessant questions and stupid theories. But he was curious about the girl. Something about the whole affair didn't seem right to him. The strange circumstances and the clothes they had found the girl in. She was hardly dressed. "Then again, Daisy, perhaps you were right. I mean, she was dressed quite scantily. If I were in her position, I don't think death would be that bad."

"That will be quite enough, Thomas," admonished Mrs. Hughes. Recently, they couldn't seem to escape sexual scandal. Between Ethel's situation and having to fire her latest maid, Mrs. Hughes was exhausted. _Why can't there ever be a peaceful moment?_ She questioned. "We must not make assumptions. And it isn't appropriate for us to discuss the guests."

"Quite right, Mrs. Hughes," Mr. Carson announced his arrival. Everyone immediately stood up, as was customary, to greet the butler. "Our mysterious guest has woken up and Dr. Clarkson is seeing to her now. I expect you all to treat her with respect and to not disturb her rest."

All Mr. Carson truly wanted to know was how his little Mary was. However, it seemed, that had been forgotten for the moment and it would be impertinent of him to ask. He was sure that if anything had happen to Lady Mary, the whole town would have known by now. The questions burning in his mind would have to wait for now. _This day has been strange, _he thought. Little did Carson know, it was about to get much stranger.


	6. Chapter 5

**Long chapter today! **

**Chapter 5**

Dr. Clarkson strode into the room, ready to get to work on making his patient better, and even more, ready to find out who this mysterious girl was. He had never seen her before and in a small town like this one, that was rare. He knew practically everybody here at Downton due to the fact that everyone had been in his hospital for one reason or another. His hospital was a central part of the community.

His patient was lying on her pillows with her arm lying over her eyes as Lady Edith led him into the room. The girl didn't appear to be asleep but he wasn't positive. Before he got a chance to check, he was stopped by the sound of her voice.

"Are you the doctor?" asked the girl.

"Yes, My name is Dr. Clarkson and I will be the attending physician. I have been told that you remember what has happened to you. You have suffered from a concussion, abrasions on your right temple and a broken right tibia, meaning I had to stitch the -"

"I know what you mean, Dr. Clarkson," she interrupted, removing her arm for her head to look at him. "My father is a doctor." She thought it strange that another person had a British accent, but she dismissed the thought as a coincidence.

"Ah, very good. That will make things a bit easier. Now tell me about yourself, starting with your name." Edith poised a pen to the medical forms the doctor had given her earlier when he had requested her presence. He reasoned that, if the girl didn't object, it would be easier to have a helping hand writing down the medical history as he spoke with the girl.

"My friends call me Ellie but my full name is Elizabeth Edith Crawley. Though really its Crawley-Bennett but my father prefers to keep it as Crawley in memory of my great grandmother. My birthday is October 18, 1996. I was born in New York before moving to California when I was 8. I live at 150 S..." She finally noticed the looks that the doctor and the woman were giving her.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" She asked them.

"Did you just say your name was Elizabeth _Edith Crawley?" _Asked the woman.

"Yes, my middle name is also in honor of my great grandmother, why?"

"Because _I'm _Edith Crawley."

"Wow! What a coincidence! Perhaps we are related?"

"Never mind the name," said Dr. Clarkson. "You must have hit your head much harder than I had originally thought."

"What do you mean?" Asked Ellie.

"You just said you were born in 1996."

"I was, I just turned 16. In fact I have my drivers license. Speaking of which, I would have thought you would know all of this considering it is in my bag-"

"That's impossible," said Dr. Clarkson, "considering the fact that the year is 1921."

Ellie chuckled. "Don't be absurd. I know what year it is and I know what year I was born."

When she got blank looks, she began to get nervous. "Very funny, now jokes over. How long have I been here?"

"We are not joking," Edith said. "Here, I have this month's copy of _The Sketch_," she grabbed it from the bedside table and gave it to Ellie.

"This isn't funny anymore. I appreciate your efforts with the old fashioned clothing and the fake magazine but, this has to be unethical. I have already seen this issue before. You probably just got it from the archives. Unless..." The details of the day rushed back to Ellie. She hadn't really thought of this before because her head was killing her, but now that she had feelings of fear washed over her like a tsunami.

"You're not really a doctor are you! You're kidnappers! Oh my god! Let me go! Please I promise I won't tell anyone! Just let me go! Please!" Hot tears streamed down her face as she yelled and pleaded.

Robert stormed into the room, "What's going on?"

He turned to look at Ellie. "My dear, I am so pleased to see you are awake, we were so-"

"Please, tell me they are wrong. Please tell them that the year is not 1921, but 2013," Ellie pleaded.

"Whatever are you talking about? Of course it's 1921," replied Robert in confusion.

Ellie stared back at him, eyes puffy and red.

"You are not kidding are you? None of you are? Oh my god, Oh My fucking God! What the fuck am I supposed to do in fucking 1921?! I don't even know where the fuck I am? I..."

"There is no need for that sort of language," Clarkson interrupted. "Especially from a young woman and in front of those who are above you! Might I inform you, you are at Downton Abbey!"

As much as Ellie wanted to say she wasn't expecting that, it would be a lie. As she had taken in her surroundings, they had become increasingly familiar to her. She remembered staying in this very room when she had been young and her family had spent the summers at her cousin's home.

"Oh my god! I'm dead aren't I? That could be the only way I would be here. I had always hoped when I dead I would get to see past relatives, but I had hoped the one to greet me would be my mother -"

"What do you mean past relatives?" Edith asked. "And you are most certainly not dead. Just confused."

"Well, that would be the only way I would see you."

"Me?"

"Edith?"

"Yes, I told you. I was named after my great grandmother Edith Crawley, better known as _Lady _Edith Crawley. Clearly, if I'm at Downton Abbey and its 1921, that must be you."

Robert was in shock. He could not believe the preposterous things he was hearing. Similarly, Dr. Clarkson was in denial.

"Ms. Crawley," Dr. Clarkson said indulgently, "you just had a major car accident that you barely survived. I think that this has been quite enough nonsense for today."

"It's not nonsense. I'm just as sane as you are. Look, I have proof. If you would get me my backpack, I'll show you," she said. Ellie was beginning to get very frustrated. Her head felt like someone was consistently beating her over the head with a giant brick and her leg felt as if a building had fallen on top of it.

"Backpack?"

"Book bag, or just bag, whatever you people call it in 1921. My stuff. Unless you don't have it." Which would be a shame considering there are a few valuables in there such as her iPad and her iPhone. "Speaking of which, where is my jewelry? The ones that I was wearing?"

"We took your jewelry off to make you more comfortable. They are all on the bedside table. Father, her bag is in the corner. If you could please grab it, it's surprisingly heavy."

"Hmmm," mused Ellie. Of course it was heavy. It was always heavy due to the amount of work her teachers assigned. Taking two AP classes was no easy task. But she wasn't going to start on that.

Robert handed her the backpack and Ellie immediately dug into the bag to grab her wallet. She took out her driver's license and handed it to Dr. Clarkson. As the three adults were looking over it, she took out her iPad and opened up the picture of the last family reunion on it. It occurred to her how ironic it was that when she was supposed to be working on a research paper about her family's genealogy she ended up in the past.

"This is a picture of the last family reunion. It was taken just after I was born, so obviously I don't remember it but I have heard a few great stories." Ellie handed them the iPad and six eyes grew wide at the technology presented to them. The photo was crystal clear and in color, not to mention the fact that it moved when you slid your figure across it.

"What the devil is this technology?" asked Robert with a hint of fear mixed with amazement.

"It's called an iPad," responded Ellie. "I won't go into details now because it's way ahead of your time and far too complicated. And it's beside the point. The point is that that is you, Edith." Ellie pointed to a woman in a wheel chair in the middle of the front row of people. The woman was elegant, even in her old age, and it was easy to tell that she had been even more beautiful in her youth. The resemblance between her and Edith was too uncanny for even Dr. Clarkson to negate.

"I won't go into who the others are, simply because I have read and watched enough science-fiction to know that bad things happen to those who meddle with time," said Ellie. She knew that she shouldn't reveal to many critical details. She didn't want Edith or any one in the family to change history, her own life was depending on everything going perfectly as it should.

Edith, meanwhile, was in shock. She regarded the picture closely. She had never really considered her death. If anything, she expected she would die young and alone, forever the maiden aunt. However, clearly this was not the case. Obviously, eventually she will marry and have a very happy family, by the looks of it.

Edith looked at at Ellie. She could clearly see that the young girl had similar features to hers, mainly her eyes. They had the same shape and color as her own. Then, Edith noticed something else, something very familiar hanging around the girl's neck. _Impossible!_ Edith thought. She would have to check as soon as she could. Looking for an excuse to leave and escape the craziness surrounding this girl's arrival, Edith saw that Ellie's facial features were scrunched up with clearly suppressed pain and her eyelids were dropping in exhaustion.

"I think that has been enough excitement for today," Edith declared to the room, shocking her father and the good doctor out of the scrutiny of both the girl and the new device that held the photograph. "Anyway, it's almost time for dinner. Will you be joining us, Doctor Clarkson?"

"Certainly, my lady, if you will have me," he responded, recovering from the shock of the forward young girl and her incredible tools.

"Is there anything you should give Ellie for the pain?" Asked Edith. While Edith couldn't say she was one hundred percent sure that Ellie was telling the truth, all the evidence pointed in her favor. Furthermore, Edith felt a strange connection to this girl, the kind you only get in the presence of family.

"Umm, yes of course," he replied. "Here is some medication for the pain. I took the liberty of putting a splint on your leg while you were unconscious." The doctor handed her two pills and the glass of water.

"Thank you," replied Ellie to the doctor, but she was looking at Edith. She recognized that Edith, though she may not believe Ellie, was trying to help her.

Although Ellie wasn't sure how effective the outdated medicine would be, she still took it. If her migraine persisted, she had medicine in her bag. She always carried around a prescription for migraines because she got them frequently from stress and genetics. As the three filed out of the room, Ellie relaxed and closed her eyes, falling asleep almost immediately.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Edith politely excused herself to get ready for dinner before rushing to her room. As soon as she had closed the door, she went to her vanity and took out the necklace Michael had given her when he had visited Duneagle Castle. It was a beautiful gold heart-shaped locket with EC inscribed on the front in cursive. He had given it to her as a promise that, one day, they would marry, even if they had to run away and change their names to do it. It was the most beautiful and heartfelt gift Edith had ever received. She was surprised that Ellie had been wearing her necklace, but then again, everything today had been a surprise. Now she knew in her heart of hearts that Ellie had been telling the truth. Edith sat down on the bed and silent tears streamed down her face. She was filled with so many emotions she couldn't even name them. However, she didn't have much time truly contemplate what she was feeling as a knock on her door signaled that her maid, Lily, had arrived to help her dress for dinner.

In his room, Robert was standing in front of the mirror as his valet, John Bates, straightened and dusted off his clothes.

"How is the girl doing, milord? If you don't mind me asking," said Bates.

"Clarkson believes she will be up and ready in no time," responded Robert. "However, her situation is quite curious."

"Oh, how so?" Bates politely wondered.

"She seems to think she is from the future."

"She did hit her head quite hard, didn't she?"

"That's what the doctor said, but..." Robert drifted off as he contemplated the evidence that the girl had provided to prove that she was indeed from a far off future.

"But what milord?"

"Never mind, Bates," Robert said, shaking his head to clear out his thoughts. "Don't worry about it. I am sure we will get to the bottom of her strange arrival soon enough."

As the family settled into their seats for dinner, Matthew finally asked the question that had been on his mind all day. "How is the girl?" He hadn't been able to find out for himself as he had had to visit Mary and then go to the office.

"She will recover," responded Doctor Clarkson. "Although she is quite strange."

"What do you mean?" asked Cora.

"I would imagine I too would be 'quite strange' had I been the victim of a vehicle of that size driving so speedily over me," said Lady Violet Grantham.

"Yes, well Lady Grantham, she appears to have all of her faculties exempting the fact that she believes she is from the future," replied Clarkson.

"She had quite a few trinkets that she claimed is 'future technology,'" laughed Robert. "I certainly don't believe she is who she claims to be." The Lord of Grantham House had become quite accustomed to ignoring those little butterflies in his stomach telling him that he was lying to everyone, including himself.

Carson, who had been standing at the door, making sure dinner went smoothly, quietly sniffed at the mention of technology. In his opinion, that was already a mark against the girl. He knew it wasn't his place to judge the guests of Downton and he would never admit to doing so, except perhaps to Mrs. Hughes, but he hated technology and was firmly against the change. Carson turned back to silently listening to the conversation.

"And who exactly does she claim to be?" Cora questioned her husband.

"She says her name is Elizabeth Edith Crawley, Edith's great granddaughter who was born in 1996."

"Indeed, what a ridiculous notion," said Violet. "Are we sure she isn't a spy of some sort?"

"Cousin Violet, I sincerely doubt she is here to try and sabotage the family's reputation," said Isobel Crawley, rolling her eyes. "Obviously, she was seriously injured and is out of sorts."

"Indeed, she didn't even see me coming. No one would try to 'infiltrate' Downton by nearly getting themselves killed," concurred Matthew.

"Lord knows we don't need another scandal," said Robert.

Edith nearly snorted at her father's statement. If only he knew about Michael's situation and the scandal that was brewing between his daughter and the editor of _The Sketch_. Personally, she was done caring about the public's opinion. She thought this entire situation was ridiculous. Her father and the physician had both seen the evidence with their own eyes.

"I believe her," said Edith, speaking for the first time since dinner began. Her voice startled everyone at the table and their heads swiveled back to her. Clearly, they had forgotten she was there as they had been so engrossed in the conversation. Edith barely suppressed her eyes from rolling; she was used to this kind of treatment.

"Why ever would you believe something so preposterous?" said Tom. Normally he would believe his sister-in-law, but he had to agree that this situation was crazy.

"She has something of mine, something that only I knew about and of which there is only one."

"What are you talking about Edith?" Violet led her granddaughter.

"She has a golden locket that I received on my last trip to London. It is engraved with the letters EC, my initials. Furthermore the way she talks and dresses and the so called 'little trinkets' she showed us are things that we certainly have never seen before."

"When did you get a locket?" Cora asked her daughter.

"Oh um," Edith's face blushed slightly. "Well, I bought it when I was in London, as I said." She pulled the necklace from beneath her dress, took it off, and handed it to her mother.

Matthew certainly didn't believe his sister-in-law. He remembered his conversation with Gregson and what the man's intentions were. He had advised him to break it off with Edith. Over the last few years, Matthew had come to see Edith as a younger sister whom he had to protect and had gotten to know her fairly well. While lately she had taken to dressing with the latest styles, something she hadn't truly cared about, he knew that she didn't splurge on little gifts for herself. Matthew stared right at Edith with an eyebrow raised. She was forced to duck her head to avoid his gaze.

"Oh how lovely, Edith." Cora cooed over necklace.

"What exactly did she say?" Asked Tom. He thought over what Edith had said about the girl's attire and tried to recall what she had been wearing. One her legs she had been wearing a tight pair of pants made of the sort of material he had only read about cowboys in America wearing with rips in them and a pair of strange, black shoes with white laces. On her torso she was had on a black shirt with butterflies and some sort of golden sweater. He had to agree with Edith even if he didn't completely believe her, the girl's style was strange.

"Well, she certainly didn't act very ladylike and she feared that we were kidnappers. Then she assumed that she must be dead. I think she even implied her own mother was dead."

Everyone pondered this new tidbit of information. Those who hadn't met Ellie yet still remained disbelieving whereas Doctor Clarkson and Robert were beginning to have a change of heart. Everything Edith had said was true. They had been there and witnessed the girl for themselves.

"Edith, are you certain? It's only that I worry, the last time you believed someone's story you ended up hurt." Cora recalled the soldier that had claimed he was Patrick Gordon, Edith's dead first love. She didn't want to see her daughter hurt and this girl's story was even more unlikely than that of the man.

"Mama," exclaimed Edith. "I am not nearly as naive as I was back then. All the evidence agrees with what Elizabeth is saying. I know I said that last time, but Father and Doctor Clarkson witnessed her explanation as well. I feel it in my bones that she is telling the truth." Edith implored her mother, and the rest of the table, to see reason. She, too, recalled what happened last time but she knew this was different.

"Anyway," said Matthew, "she is our guest and we should treat her accordingly. Even if she was well enough to go back to wherever she came from, or even to the hospital, I think we should keep her here. I am still the one responsible for her current situation. Anyway, keep your friends close and your enemies closer, as they say."

Edith excused herself, claiming exhaustion. She had much to muse over. On her way out, she asked Carson to make sure that Mrs. Hughes delivered something to eat to who she knew was her future great granddaughter.


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Mrs. Hughes carefully carried the tray of food up the staircase. Despite the composed face she put on in front of the staff, she was just as curious to learn about the mystery guest. She hoped she could get her dear friend Mr. Carson to tell her what he had learned at dinner. She had heard Alfred and Jimmy whispering about the girl apparently being crazy, but had pretended to ignore them. She knew tongues would wag and heads would roll after dinner. It always happened when a guest was staying.

When she got to the door of the room, she lightly knocked and waited for an answer. As she did not hear a response, Elsie quietly entered the dark room to leave the tray on the dresser in case the young girl wakes up.

She was surprised by the sound of a voice. "You're Mrs. Hughes," said an American accent. Elsie looked at the girl. She was lying flat on the bed with her eyes covered by her arm.

"Yes, I am. I have brought you some food if you feel up to it." She didn't wonder how the girl knew her name. She figured Lady Edith must have told the girl she was coming.

"Thank you, but for once in my life I don't think I could stomach anything."

"Very well. Is there anything else I could do for you?"

"Yes, actually. Firstly, please speak softer, my head feels like there are little workers in there banging on my skull with giant hammers."

"I apologize, lass," whispered Elsie.

"I said speak softer, not whisper. There's a difference. When you whisper, your pitch goes up and it's grating on my nerves. But also, can you _softly _tell me what they are talking about downstairs. I assume me, I just want to know what they are saying, please."

"I am sorry, but I can't say. Mr. Carson attends dinner." Even if she did know, and she did have some sort of idea, she wouldn't say. It was quite impertinent of the girl to ask.

"Yes, of course. I am sorry, I don't mean to put you in a difficult position. I know that Robert and Dr. Clarkson don't believe me, but I think Edith does."

"It's impolite to speaks so informally about those who have welcomed you into their home," admonished Mrs. Hughes. She knew she didn't know who this girl was, for all she knew the girl could be a lady herself, but it didn't seem as such and so she felt it was her place to say something.

"Of course in normal circumstances you would be right, but as it is, Edith is my great grandmother." Mrs. Hughes had heard Alfred and Jimmy saying something of the family saying that the girl believed she was from the future therefore she was prepared for the girl to say this.

"Indeed," she replied. "Well, I have duties to attend to so if you would excuse me." Mrs. Hughes started walking to the door.

"I know you don't believe me, but I can prove it," said Ellie.

"Goodnight," Mrs. Hughes said, but she was forced to stop in her tracks just as her hand touched the door knob.

"You are in love with Mr. Carson," came the declaration.

"Excuse me!" exclaimed Elsie. The nerve of this girl! She turned back to see the girl peering back at her from beneath her arm.

"It's the reason why you refused that farmer's proposal."

"How do you know about that?" asked Elsie, her Scottish brogue becoming thicker.

"My grandmother told me. I know you may not like me Mrs. Hughes. Clearly, you think I'm a raving lunatic. But I think you are awesome and I hope in time you will come to like me. By the way, my name is Elizabeth."

"If you will excuse me, I have work to attend to," Elsie said, eager to escape the knowledgable stranger.

As the door closed, Ellie sighed. That was not how that was supposed to go. Edith hadn't come in to warn her that Elsie Hughes would pay her a visit, but she figured it was a matter of time before the woman came.

She slowly reached over the bedside to reach into her bag. The movement made her nauseous, but she had to get her medication. She knew the shit Clarkson had given her would be useless.


End file.
